374 



BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



[Tol.Y. 



prickly-pear cactuses and stunted mesquite-trees, and here tlieir nests 

 will be found in cactuses more frequently perhaps than in trees. But 

 at Lomita I found five nests in trees to one in cacti. Though usually 

 suspicious and wary, this bird is wonderfully bold at times in clioosing 

 sites for its nest. In my notes of 1877 I mention a nest with four 

 eggs taken from an outhouse, in the centre of a village. At Lomita 

 Eanch, close by a large and much frequented gateway, stands a j'oung 

 ebony-tree, from which, in x>lain sight, and some twelve feet from the 

 ground, I took a nest and four eggs in April of the following season, 

 and on May 20 I took a nest and three fresh eggs, at a height of four- 

 teen feet, in a large ebony, close by a pathway on the edge of a corn- 

 field. These were the highest nests found, and in both instances the 

 birds were as tame as Eobins. Nests are seldom found lower than four 

 feet from the ground. The last nest I examined, just before leaving 

 the ranch, was a very bulky one of this species, which I had seen built 

 in the place where, a number of days before, I had destroyed the nest 

 of a Mockingbird, after its young had departed. It was situated on the 

 lowest branch of a small tree near the house, entirely exposed to view, 

 and, standing upon a chair, I Avas able to look into it. It was just com- 

 pleted and ready for the eggs, and I did not disturb it. The second nest 

 was much larger than the first, but composed quite similarly of thorny 

 twigs, and lined with a few grasses. This fearlessness is exceptional, but 

 indicates that, were the country thickly settled, this bird might become 

 as domestic as the Mockingbird or Eobin. It is resident where found, 

 commences to breed in March on the Eio Grande, and rears several 

 broods in a season. The first is hatched in Ax)ril, and generally num- 

 bers four. By the middle or latter part of May, clutches for the second 

 brood are full, and consist nearly always of three eggs. I have taken, 

 however, a few sets of four from the second laying. 



The eggs vary in shape from oblong oval to almost pyriform ; the 

 ends are round-pointed, and the greatest diameter nearer one end. The 

 color is pea-green, covered more or less over the entire surface with fine 

 brown dots. Of the large series of eggs taken, only one set was com- 

 paratively free from spots. A set of over-s-ized eggs, taken May 24, 

 average 1.25 by .83. The general averapfe is 1.12 by .79. The shell is 

 not particularly fragile, unless incubation is well advanced, in which 

 case it becomes so tender that it is almost impossible to prepare a fair 

 specimen. The color becomes dull and faded when the egg is long incu- 

 bated, so that its condition can generally be known without handling. 



Lomita 

 ....do . 

 ....do . 

 ....do . 

 ....do . 



April 10 

 April 17 

 May 5 

 May 7 

 May 14 



10. 62 



11.00 

 11.00 

 11.00 



13. 75 



13. 50 

 13. 75 

 13.25 



4.10 

 4.00 

 4.00 

 4.15 

 4.25 



4.00 

 4.28 

 4. 25 

 4.00 

 4.12 



